The State of California last week said it may list 30 harmful chemicals that cause cancer and reproductive harm. The proposal stems from a ruling in a lawsuit over the state’s duty to list such chemicals. The ruling was issued in favor of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), United Steelworkers and Sierra Club.
Pursuant to Proposition 65, California publishes an annual list of chemicals as a warning to consumers and which are banned from being discharged into drinking water. The lawsuit filed in 2007 by the advocacy groups alleged that the state failed to keep the list current based on scientific developments and updated workplace protocols, a press release by the NRDC said.
California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has created the list of proposed carcinogens and list of proposed reproductive and developmental toxicants.
NRDC noted that Governor Schwarzenegger's office is planning to dissolve OEHHA, terminate most of its funding, and disperse its functions to other boards and departments, a move that advocacy groups highly oppose.
Chemicals included in the list are styrene, a component of plastics and foam; tert-amyl methyl ether (TAME), a common gasoline additive; carbaryl, a common household pesticide; and phenoxy herbicides, widely used in weed killers.
